Chapter 4 – The Return to School

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does. I have been rubbing every lamp I can find but with no avail.

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A chapter to cheer up your Monday; enjoy.

Harry walked outside of the main back entrance of the small castle that was Beauxbatons School of Magic. Before Harry lay his most favorite part of the castle and the pride and joy of the school; the gardens. The gardens were extensive and stretched across several acres containing rare and beautiful plants. Harry turned to the left and quickly strode down the marble steps which led to the gardens. Everything at Beauxbatons was immaculate and neat, screaming its beauty and sophistication to those who attended; reminding the students just how fortunate they were for even being able to be there.

Harry fidgeted with the clothes he was wearing, uncomfortable with the school's uniform. The boys were required to where some form of slacks, preferably black ones, as well as a blue button up shirt and a white tie on all week days; only being able to dress down during the weekend. (If you counted dressing down as not having to wear a tie for the two days) Thankfully, the temperature had been slightly cooler today and had made wearing the long sleeved shirt bearable and not as stuffy. He had long since shed his black jacket which he had worn with his uniform during the unusually cold morning.

Harry followed a memorized path to his favorite spot. He entered a maze of hedges and veered to the right as he maneuvered his way across a small stream that gurgled its way happily through the garden. Following against the stream's current he came upon a spacious, cobblestoned area with a large fountain in the middle which the stream emanated from. He paused as he heard a slight sound of sobbing come from the fountain; he was not alone. Walking around the fountain curiously he slowly came upon a girl sitting on the ground leaning against it crying. The sobbing blonde haired girl looked to be about 14, a year over Harry's age.

He had only been at Beauxbatons for a little over two months and was unsure of what to do. Harry inwardly snorted; he knew what Lucas would do. Noticing the girl was missing her hat from the usual dress uniform the females at the school wore; Harry glanced around and finally spotted it on the cobblestones. Walking to it quietly he picked it up, brushed it off, and walked back to the girl.

Harry scratched his head, "Um excuse me, you dropped this. Er are you okay?"

The girl looked up, startled at his voice. As soon as her head lifted and her hair parted to the sides Harry almost choked, she was beautiful. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean at a beach, complete with the sparkling. Her golden blonde hair shone and fell nicely in ringlets down onto her shoulders. He shook his head banishing those thoughts away, she was crying for Pete's sake!

"A-a-a-are y-y-you okay?" He managed to stutter out lamely. Why couldn't he think straight? The girl's eyebrows rose above her watery eyes. That's when it hit Harry, the girl was a Veela! That's why he was feeling such a pull to her. He mentally slapped himself and took a deep breath. As he did so he noticed the smell of pine needles surrounding the girl and was barely able to resist as he erected his occulumency shields around his mind. Immediately his mind cleared and he was able to form a coherent thought.

"Most boys would be on the ground in a puddle of drool by now." The girl said in a soft voice.

"I'm not most boys." Harry said weakly. He slapped himself mentally once again. Smooth Harry, really smooth.

The blonde girl laughed and Harry's heart took off.

"Are you okay?"

The girl nodded but Harry frowned and, in a split second decision, sat down beside her. She looked startled but he was able to calm her down.

"I'm new here. My name is Ha-ames."

The girl laughed curiously, "Hames?"

Harry inwardly cursed, he had yet to get used to his new name. "Sorry. It's James. If I may ask, what's yours?"

"Fleur. Fleur Delacour." she replied quietly.

Adrian was lost in his thoughts as he walked out of the Hogwarts express consumed by his thoughts of the Summer. He instinctively reached to brush back his long hair but then stopped as he remembered he had cut it the day before. The cutting of his hair had been somewhat of a ceremony of him; the leaving of his grim days behind him as he finally faced the world with a smile. Padfoot had laughed at him for his reasons for cutting his hair but immediately afterwards said it made him look a little more like his father.

Sirius was another thought that weighed heavily on his mind. He had promised to visit him on some Hogsmeade trips. Sirius had token up residence in a cave near Hogsmeade, a well furnished cave, thanks to Kreacher who had moved several items of furniture into it for his Godfather. Sirius would normally have stayed hidden in his house, Grimmauld 12, but it was being used by Dumbledore for something called the Order of the Phoenix.

Sirius had elected to stay at the cave because of its close proximity to the castle and to James's family. Adrian winced; he still hadn't told his mother and sister what truly had happened during his third year. Sirius didn't think he himself was ready to integrate himself into society and Moony had agreed with him. The pair of them along with Moony had decided to wait until they could prove him completely innocent before he appeared before the public. Moony was currently working on finding a healer that would believe him and help Sirius recover from his time in Azkaban.

While trapped in his thoughts, Adrian climbed absentmindly into a carriage and closed the door. He suddenly lifted his head as he realized that it had three other occupants in it already, all of whose owners were staring at him. He shifted uneasily in his seat, uncomfortable with being near so many people as he usually rode the carriage up to the castle alone. He looked at the two girls in front of him and noticed that they were from his house.

"Hi."

The one on the right, a brunette with shoulder length hair, gasped and said in a loud bubbly voice to the other two members in the carriage, "The Ice King speaks!"

The dark skinned boy beside him laughed as Adrian cocked his head, "Um yeah? It's Tracey right?"

Tracey nodded her head enthusiastically. "Sure thing! Keep talking! You'll break your record for most words said at one time! I'm so going to cash in galleons tonight at the betting pool!"

"Trace calm down." A quiet voice said, belonging to the regal boy sitting beside Adrian.

"But Blaise, the Ice King does speak!"

Adrian snorted, amused. This year would be different for sure. "Ice King?"

"Yup!" Tracey continued, "Because you hardly talk! You speak less than Daphne here."

Adrian turned to Daphne and studied her. He had rarely seen the blonde girl over his school years but she had always looked as if she considered everyone to be beneath her. Her eyes were currently lifted up in amusement now.

"Well what if I don't want to be the Ice King anymore?" Adrian mused out loud. Tracey's jaw dropped.

"Then I would be interested in what you want to be." Blaise's curious voice interjected before Tracey could say something else.'

Adrian stared at Blaise before holding out his hand, "Adrian Potter."

Blaise grasped it tightly, "Blaise Zabini, pleasure to finally meet you."

"You are Potter aren't you?" a stunned Tracey asked.

Adrian replied with a smirk, "Last time I checked. So are you excited for this year of good old 'Ogwarts?"

As the students talked the carriage slowly drew up to the castle. The four students got out and slowly made their way to the Great Hall. When they had reached the Slytherin table Adrain surprised the other three by sitting beside Blaise while the other two sat down across from them.

"You don't mind do you?" Adrian asked.

Blaise shook his head while Tracey's jaw hung open slightly, again. Adrian looked at Daphne who gave a slight nod before putting on a mask of indifference. Whispers filled the table as several noticed that Adrian wasn't sitting in his usual spot at the end of the table. Adrian looked at the staff table and smiled and waved at his mother who smiled back. The students fell silent as Dumbledore stood up.

"A good evening to you all! First things first, let the sorting begin!"

Adrian watched as the group of nervous first-years were sorted and placed in their houses after the hat sang its yearly song. Their sorting reminded him of his and he looked around the table for a certain blonde ponce. He gazed around and finally caught the haughty face of Draco Malfoy sitting near his two thugs. Draco stared at him coolly while Adrian smirked back. It had only taken Draco a couple of incidents with Adrian to learn that as long as he left him alone he wouldn't end up hurt. Food suddenly appeared on the table as the sorting finished and Adrian dug in.

"So in the carriage you said you didn't want to be the Ice King anymore. What did you want to be?" Blaise asked as he ate his food.

"I'll have to find that out." Adrian replied mysteriously.

"You don't know?" Tracey asked.

"Correct."Adrian confessed. "What do you want to be?"

Tracey cocked her head, "I don't know either." she said with a laugh. "But a Quidditch player would be cool."

Adrian snorted into his food, "Quidditch?"

"Yeah. What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. I love playing it. Although, my twin is better at it than me. I can hold my own."

"Could you teach me?"

Adrian raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "I guess. That'd be fun."

Blaise laughed at Tracey's once again stunned expression. "You're going to put her in shock."

"What do you want to be Daphne?" Adrian asked as he turned to the impassive blonde girl.

Daphne looked at him with a composed face, "You'll have to get to know me before I spill all my dreams to you Potter."

Adrian winced slightly but smiled back at her. His attention was turned from her as, at the same time, the Great Hall's doors burst open and the ceiling sky started to rain. A dark figure in the doorway quickly entered and pointed his wand at the ceiling as students screamed. A string of white light flashed and the ceiling reverted back to normal.

"Sorry for being late." The figure said loudly. "Got caught up in the rain."

Adrian watched as the man, who had a wooden leg and a magical eye, stumbled his way to the staff table while leaning heavily on his walking stick. Conversation slowly resumed as the man sat down and started to speak with Dumbledore.

"Who's that?" Adrian asked.

"That would be Mad-Eye Moody the Auror." Blaise answered. "Before my father inherited a seat on the Wizengamot he was an auror and worked with Ol' Mad-Eye. They say half of Azkaban is filled because of him."

Adrian looked up at the man to find him drinking out of a metal flask. "So he's a professor?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts I believe." Tracey said.

Her comment was confirmed as Dumbledore stood and announced the Auror. Dumbledore continued with his welcome speech, "And to all first years a warm welcome. And to all those returning, a welcome back! Mr. Filch has an updated list of banned items from the school. A warning to all students, the Forbidden Forest is just what it sounds, forbidden. And now for the announcement I'm sure many of you have been waiting for, we will be playing host to two other schools this year, Beaxbatons and Durmstrang, as three champions compete in the infamous Tri-Wizard tournament!"

Gasps and conversation ensued at the announcement. Adrian heard a pair of red-headed twins sitting at the Gryffindor table say "Wicked" above the others.

"People have died in the tournament haven't they?" Tracey asked worriedly. "That's why they were stopped."

"I think the more important question is who will be our school's champion and who will be the others'." Blaise mused.

Dumbledore quieted the students and kept on speaking. "The other schools will arrive in two weeks time and I expect you all to represent Hogwarts and be on your best behavior. Until then on with the school song!"

As the students finished singing the jaunty tune Adrian got up and started walking toward the door along with his newfound friends.

Adrian leaned closer to Tracey and whispered, "So I've stunned you quite a bit, shall I stun Draco next?"

Blaise laughed loudly at Tracey's expression all the way down to the Slytherin common room.

"-all of the suspected Death Eaters had alibi's and witnesses that placed them at their homes during the attack." Harry finished. He grabbed the goblet of pumpkin juice on the desk in front of him and took a big gulp to wet his parched throat. He was currently sitting down in his Uncle's familiar office while giving him his report as captain of the Guardian team that had been at the World Cup.

"Very well then." Adam mused. "Proceed with the list of suspects from the folder I gave you a week ago. While at Hogwarts your team's mission will be to get to the bottom of these Death Eaters and the inner circle of Voldemort. This attack could be the first of many and we don't know if Voldemort is truly behind it as the rumors say. Therefore, as a member of the Council I authorize your team to use whatever force you deem necessary to complete your mission."

Adam unlocked a door in his desk and pulled out a folder. Opening it, he took out four papers and handed them to Harry. Harry widened his eyes when he read them.

"Execution licenses?" he exclaimed.

Adam nodded gravely. "The Death Eaters had their chance. Nine civilian casualties and dozens were wounded at the World Cup. We will not take anymore chances. Distribute those to your team, you'll each need one."

Harry gave a nod of acknowledgement and slipped the papers into a folder he had with him. "Adam, there's one more thing."

Adam sighed, knowing what was coming. "It's about your family isn't it?"

Harry straightened up resolutely and looked at his well loved Uncle, "Yes sir."

"What are we?" Adam asked him.

"Sir?"

"What are we?"

"We are Guardians." Harry replied understanding the question.

"Correct, that is our true name. But what are we known by those outside of our group?"

"The Society."

"And why do you suppose that is?"

Harry pondered the question, "So people don't know what we really do."

"Almost correct, there's a little bit more to add on: it functions as an added layer of protection to what we truly do. And what is it we do?"

"Keep the balance. Protect those that can't protect themselves. Police the dark and the light if need be."

"Yes." Adam sighed. "As before, the reason you can't let your family know who you really are is because you need to protect them.

Harry pursed his lips. "You've told me that Uncle but why can't I tell them I'm alive?" Harry stood up as his anger started to show through, "Surely they can keep my secret!"

Adam waited for Harry to calm down and then gestured toward the vacated seat. "I've told you the story of how my father died. How my mother and sister grieved for months. How I finally was able to convince my mother to let go of her sadness and she eventually was remarried to Harold Potter, your grandfather. From her, you're grandfather learned about the Society and agreed to keep it a secret from their newly born son, my brother, James."

Adam wiped his eyes as he started to choke on tears, "It was on Christmas Eve when the family was attacked. The attackers were part of a group of Grindelwald supporters and had somehow tracked me down as the one who helped Dumbledore defeat their Dark Lord. They discovered who I really was and who my family was. It didn't matter that I was 11 years old when I helped Dumbledore, that day my sister was killed. James was 5 at the time. That day I promised myself that no more harm would come to my family because of me."

Adam stood up and started pacing as Harry listened. "I stopped visiting my family who, at my bequest, erased me from their records. I kept my father's name and I hunted down Grindelwald's followers, only visiting at Christmas time. It was the Christmas the year you were born that James approached me and asked me to take care of you should anything happen to him and Lilly. I had planned on meeting him and for the first time, Lilly, that very night your family was attacked. The night I lost my baby brother."

Harry stared at the fire which seemed to be humming a sorrowful tune and bowed his head. Adam walked over to him and grasped his arm. "I can't let that happen to you and your family. Do you understand?"

Harry stood up and, looking into his Uncle's teary eyes, nodded slowly before hugging him tightly. "Yes Uncle." His voice cracked.

Dumbledore sat himself down in his office with a blissful sigh. An unknown, well actually quite well known fact about him was that he liked to eat. He rested for a moment before dipping his hand into a pocket and pulling out two vials. He grabbed two crystal bowls from his desk and put them on the surface. He reached for a flask on a glass shelf and poured the clear potion into the bowls.

Homunum Cortum Revilio he chanted over the pair of bowls. He quickly took the hairs in each of the two vials and dropped them delicately into their respective bowls. The bowl that contained the raven black hair of Adrian Potter smoked as the hairs dissolved and suddenly turned a clear blue color which, after Dumbledore saw, gave a sigh of relief.

"I was right." He muttered to a dozing Fawkes. "It was only a sliver of Voldemort's soul that latched itself onto Adrian Potter. That's why he had those dreams at the same time Rose Potter did. But it seems that because it was such a small piece Adrian's own soul was able to conquer and eradicate it."

Dumbledore was stuck in his musing and gave a small cry of horror as he looked at the now green potion that Rose Potter's red hair had been added to. The surface of the potion was covered in a spider web of an angry red color. Dumbledore frowned as he stared at the bowl, knowing that the red represented the part of Voldemort's soul had latched on to Rose when she had been an infant.

He slowly pulled a diary with a large hole in the middle of it out of a locked door in his desk. He sighed before pulling out a piece of paper. He pulled out a dict-quill and activated the spell on it.

"The diary was a horcrux. Adrian Potter appears not to be a horcrux, his magical core is no longer tainted with the red of Voldemort." Dumbledore bowed his head, "Rose Potter is a horcrux, my theory has been confirmed. The piece of Voldemort's soul has persisted all these years and has not faded away like it did for Adrian."

Tears slowly fell down Dumbledore's face. He gently woke Fawkes up. "Old friend, I need you to go get Professor Snape for me."

The Phoenix disappeared in a flash.

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